


A Brother's Bond

by XinaV



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Gen, I couldn't help myself, I didn't make it angsty or sad, I live for Markmin bros, Mark and Jaemin are brothers, Markmin bros, Sibling bond, The nicest thing I've ever wrote, This is strictly a story about their brotherhood, To make it clear, they're brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 13:28:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20930993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XinaV/pseuds/XinaV
Summary: Five times Mark was there for his little brotherAnd one time Jaemin was there for his big brother.





	A Brother's Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I was reading an AU by Sprinklednana on Twitter and in that AU Mark and Jaemin are brothers and they have such a wholesome bond, it just made me so soft. I just had the strong urge to write a Markmin brother story and that's how this was born. So Sien/Sprinklednana, if you ever read this, thank you for giving me this inspiration and I really love your AUs.
> 
> Note: I made Mark 2 years older than Jaemin in this instead of one year.

**1\. Five and Seven**

Mark was on the swings when he hears the familiar cry of his little brother.

He jumps off, not caring that another kid immediately took his wing the second he got off, and runs over to the jungle gym where his little brother is on the ground crying.

“Get up you baby, it’s not that serious,” Mark hears a kid tell Jaemin.

He pushes the kid and gives him a mean look. His parents always told him that it’s not nice to put his hands on other kids but this kid deserves it.

“Don’t call him that! Now leave him alone,” he says.

With Mark being taller than the boy and with the mean look he has, the kid doesn’t try to argue back. Instead, he runs away, going to continue the game he and the other kids were playing.

Mark turns to Jaemin and bends down so he’s eye level with his little brother. Jaemin is still crying, holding his knee.

“What’s wrong Nana?” He asks gently.

Jaemin moves his hands from his knees and shows Mark his red and bruised knee.

“I fell when we were playing and my knee hurts now,” Jaemin cries.

Mark looks to the bench where their mother is sitting and sees she’s still reading her book as if she didn’t even hear the cry of her youngest son—she probably didn’t. He thinks that there’s no use in going over to her since she’s probably much too in her book right now. Besides, he can handle this himself.

“Wait right here and I’ll be back. I’ll make your knee feel all better,” he says, petting Jaemin’s hair softly.

Jaemin nods, tears still in his eyes, and it’s enough for Mark. 

He runs over to where their mother is and goes digging through her purse. She only looks down at him when she hears her keys jingle. She doesn’t say anything though because she sees him pull out her water bottle, band-aids, and a tissue. Without a second thought, she goes back to her book. Whatever the situation is, her son has it under control.

With the items he took from her purse, Mark runs back over to Jaemin.

“Here, let me clean your knee. It may sting for a bit but it’ll help you,” he says.

Jaemin watches as Mark unscrews the top of the water bottle and slowly pours the water over his hurt knee. Wanting to be a big boy for his big brother, he tries not to cry more at the sting.

When Mark thinks that he used enough water, he screws back on the top and puts the bottle down next to him. He then uses the tissue he took to gently wipe the water off and to make sure the bruise is clean. He’s happy to notice that Jaemin’s knee looks a little less red after him doing so.

Once Jaemin’s knee is all dry, Mark opens the band-aid he thinks is the right size and places it over Jaemin’s bruise, making sure it covers it properly. He gives the band-aid a light kiss as a part of the healing process.

“There. Do you feel better now, Nana?” Mark asks, wiping away Jaemin’s tears with his hand.

Jaemin nods, feeling even better when Mark smiles at him.

“Good! Do you want to play with me now? We could play all of your favorite games until it’s time to go,” Mark says.

Jaemin lights up at the idea of playing with big brother.

“Can we? I want to go on the slides,” Jaemin says excitedly.

“Okay, let’s go,” Mark responds, taking Jaemin by the hand and helping the younger up.

Jaemin smiles as Mark leads him over to the slides, hurt knee already forgotten.  
  
  


**2\. Ten and Twelve**

Things have been dark in the house ever since their dad left them.

He said he just couldn’t take her anymore. Said that he didn’t sign up to have two kids and to be practically raising them on his own since she was always “busy”. That argument was their last argument because that was the day he packed his clothes and stormed out of the house, telling her to experience what it’s like being a single parent so maybe she could actually do her job as a mother.

Mark didn’t like the fact that Jaemin had to witness that last argument.

He didn’t like that Jaemin had to sit in the living room and watch their parents yell back and forth at each other. He didn’t like that he had to hear their parents throw their names around as if they were the issue in the marriage. He didn’t like that he had to watch their mother throw a vase at the door as their father was leaving. He just didn’t like that Jaemin saw it all and had to try his hardest not to cry at that moment. 

Mark did not cry when their dad walked out. Instead, he held Jaemin as he cried that night and vowed that he’d help his brother get through this situation.

And he plans on keeping that vow.

_ SLAP _

Mark grits his teeth so he doesn’t show any response to the pain he’s feeling on his cheek.

“Get out of the way. He wants to act all grown up and tell me what I should be doing then he can take his punishments like a grown-up,” their mother says.

Jaemin trembles behind Mark, once again trying his hardest not to cry as he watches his big brother face off with their mother once again.

He didn’t mean to start an issue. He was just asking her if they would have dinner tonight and she flipped, calling him ungrateful and saying she’s working as hard as she can as a single mother. He doesn’t even remember when Mark stepped in. All he remembers is their mother standing up and raising her hand to slap him and just when he was expecting that sting, the sound didn’t match up to the pain. He opened his eyes to see that Mark once again took the hit for him.

“No. I won’t let you hit him. He did nothing wrong, all he was asking about was dinner,” Mark says, staring down the woman.

It’s as if Jaemin saw the red in her eyes as Mark spoke back to her. Before he knew it, another slap was given and this one sounded much harder than the last.

He flinched at the sound but Mark stayed still, not moving an inch.

“You think you can talk back to me?! I do everything for you. I’m the reason why you two aren’t in foster care right now. You think I wanted to be a single mother? I was the best wife to him for years and this is how he thanks me? Leaving me with two ungrateful, disrespectful brats?! He should have taken you with him since you’re so much like him! For the love of God, STOP CRYING JAEMIN!” She shouts.

Jaemin flinches harder at the shout, curling into himself. He doesn’t even know when he started to cry. He didn’t mean to. He knows how much crying annoys her so he tries not to cry. He couldn’t help himself this time though.

“Don’t yell at him! Go ahead, put us in foster care. You’ll be the one who the system will decide as unfit. I get it, he left you. You’re not the only one he left, you know. He left us too but you don’t see us taking it out on others,” Mark shoots back.

It’s not the first time this time of heated argument happened between the oldest son and the woman of the house. In fact, this is a regular occasion, especially when she tries to physically harm Jaemin. She tends to stick to harsh words but sometimes she really loses her cool and becomes physical. Never went past a few slaps but that is already too much. This has become their norm but Jaemin still can’t handle it.

“You think you’re so big? You want to talk like that, fine. Take care of you and that brat yourself. Don’t you dare come to me for anything. Be happy I’m giving you a place to sleep. Go ahead, be a big man like your no-good father. Let’s see you take care of a kid on your own,” she says.

Mark doesn’t turn away, continuing to stare her directly in the eyes as he responds.

“I already do.”

She turns away from him and walks to her room, slamming the door behind her. The sound echoes throughout the house but that’s nothing they aren’t familiar with.

Mark finally loosens his muscles and turn to Jaemin. 

“I’m sorry I got you hit again,” Jaemin says through his tears.

Mark sighs and pulls his brother into a tight hug.

“You did nothing wrong, little bro. She’s just mean. I’m the one who really angered her,” he says.

Jaemin cries into his shoulder, holding him tightly as he trembles. He hates always being the one who is crying but he really can’t help it sometimes.

“You got slapped twice this time,” Jaemin cries.

Mark’s cheek hurts like hell but he won’t tell Jaemin that. He doesn’t want to worry him any more than he already is.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad that she didn’t hit you. I won’t let her hit you anymore. That time was enough,” he says.

He gives the top of Jaemin’s head a soft kiss as he rubs his brother’s back. 

He doesn’t care how many hits and insults he has to take. For his baby brother, he’ll take it all and more. There isn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for his brother.

“Come on, let’s go see what we can do about dinner now. I won’t let you go to bed hungry again,” he says.

If their mother doesn’t want to take care of them then fine, he’ll just do it himself. Just like he always has.  
  
  


**3\. Fourteen and Sixteen**

Jaemin pops up at the sound of the front door opening.

Finally.

He runs to the living room and sees his brother finally coming in at seven o’clock in the evening, looking exhausted.

It’s not often that Mark comes home late and it’s even rarer that he doesn’t tell Jaemin that he’ll be home late. Usually, the two would walk home together unless one of them has something else to do. Mark has been unusually busy lately but he has never come home at this time. Neither of them has a phone since their mother still refuses to get them anything and neither of them has money so it’s not like Jaemin could call Mark to see what was going on. As time past by, Jaemin was becoming more worried.

“You’re finally home. I was really getting worried. What took you so long? Are you alright?” Jaemin says.

Mark gives him a soft smile and part of Jaemin’s worry dies down a bit.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d be out that late. Is Mom home?” Mark says.

“No, she’s at work. I don’t think she’ll be coming home tonight,” Jaemin responds.

Mark goes and sits down on the couch, gesturing for Jaemin to join him. Jaemin does so, sitting right next to his brother, happy that the older is finally home.

“Okay, good. I don’t want her ruining tonight. I got you a present, little bro. You want to see it?” Mark says, eyes lighting up in happiness.

Jaemin is surprised. He doesn’t recall doing anything deserving of a present. It’s not his birthday, it’s not a holiday, and he didn’t have any tests recently so his grades aren’t a reason either. What could Mark be giving him a present for?

“A present? For me? Why?” Jaemin asks.

Mark smiles in response, well knowing his brother’s thinking. He boops Jaemin’s nose, causing the younger to giggle.

“Because you’re an awesome person and I want to give my baby brother a gift. Is that so bad?” He responds.

Mark’s smile is contagious and Jaemin finds himself smiling as well.

“Alright, you win. What did you get me?” Jaemin says.

Mark grabs his backpack and digs through it, taking out a neatly wrapped rectangle box with a bow on top.

“Here, open it,” he says.

Jaemin stares at the box curiously but slowly unties the bow on top. As he always does with any wrapped gift he receives, he unwraps the paper neatly. He believes that if someone took the time to neatly wrap it then he should take the time to neatly unwrap it.

When the paper is all unwrapped, he puts it to the side. He looks up and notices the excitement in Mark’s eyes as if the older was never exhausted to begin with as he waits for him to open the box. Whatever Mark got him, he’s really proud of.

Jaemin decides to not waste any more time and opens the box.

He gasps.

“How...how did you…”

Jaemin’s voice fades away as he takes out a brand new phone from the box.

“Do you like it?” Mark asks, watching Jaemin’s expressions carefully.

Jaemin stares at the phone in his hand, looking at it in awe. He can’t believe it.

“Like it? I love it but how did you get this? Why did you get this?” Jaemin responds.

Mark’s smile never dulls as he continues to watch his little brother stare at the phone with such wide eyes. Everything he did was definitely worth it since he gets to see this look on Jaemin’s face.

“I took up some tutoring jobs for different subjects. I’ve been saving the money for a while so I could buy you it. You didn’t say anything but I know how people at school sometimes make fun of you because you didn’t have a phone so I wanted to get you one. It’s not one of the latest or anything but I hope it’s enough. My friend Lucas’ mom is letting it be under her phone plan and I’ll just pay her monthly, or as she said, whenever I can afford it. I plan on getting an actual job soon so I can pay her regularly and eventually get a plan for you on my own,” Mark explains.

Jaemin’s wide eyes look up at him at the statement.

“Wait, is that why we’ve been going to school really early and why you’ve been leaving later and why you don’t go to lunch sometimes? Have you been tutoring people all of this time so you could buy me this?” Jaemin asks.

Mark nods.

He’ll admit, it was a lot of hard work and it took up a lot of time but he was determined to get this gift for Jaemin. He knows what it’s like when people find out that you don’t have a phone at this age. While it doesn’t bother him, Jaemin is a bit more sensitive than he is. He didn’t want his brother to go through that anymore.

Jaemin puts the phone down carefully before throwing his arms around Mark, hugging him tightly.

“I can’t believe you did this for me. I love you so much. You’re the best big brother ever,” Jaemin mumbles into his shoulder.

Mark chuckles, hugging Jaemin back.

“Anything for you, baby bro. Anything for you,” he says.

Jaemin suddenly pulls away, staring Mark in his eyes.

“What about you though?” Jaemin asks.

He doubts that Mark made enough money to get them both phones but did his brother really spend all his hard-earned money on him alone?

“I’ll wait a bit longer before I get one. I like being able to tell people that there’s no way to contact me. It keeps fake friends out of your friend group,” Mark says with a wink, nudging Jaemin softly.

Jaemin’s heart almost bursts in love and compassion at that. He can’t believe that Mark really spent all of this time and energy just to get him a phone so he won’t stand out anymore. Mark probably didn’t even think about getting himself something knowing him. There literally is no person who cares more about him than his big brother.

“We’re making sure you get one too. I want to be able to play all those games everyone talks about with you. And we’d be able to share music and call each other and take pictures of each other. We have to get you one. And until we do, we will be sharing this one,” Jaemin says.

“Aw, Nana, we don’t have to. That’s your phone. I’ll get one soon enough, don’t worry,” Mark says.

But Jaemin isn’t having that.

“Nope, don’t care. I said we’re sharing, we’re sharing. Little brothers always get the final say so you can’t do anything about that,” he replies, crossing his arms and tilting his head up.

Mark laughs at his brother’s antics. He knows better, though, than to argue with Jaemin.

“Alright, alright, I’ll let you have this one. But you are using it majority of the time and you’ll be the one to have it during the school day; no ifs, ands, or buts about that,” he says.

Jaemin pretends to consider it before “giving in”.

“Fine, I’ll take that. Now come on, let’s eat dinner and then set it up together. I cooked pasta tonight,” he says.

Mark doesn’t argue, getting up with Jaemin with a smile still on his face.

Every last second he spent working hard and dealing with people was undoubtedly and completely worth it.

It’s all worth it for Jaemin.

  
  
  


**4\. Fifteen and Seventeen**

It was pretty normal to find Mark in the music room after school when he wasn’t going to work or when he was waiting for Jaemin.

There’s something about being in a room where music is the foremost important thing that makes Mark feel at ease. Yes, he always did say he wanted to be a writer but the older he gets, the more music starts to take over his heart. Music is just so special to him.

It’s here in this room that he gets to create songs that come from his heart. It’s here that he gets to watch Jaemin dance to his heart’s content, a hobby his little brother has started to enjoy greatly. It’s here that he gets a moment of silence, the music teacher always allowing him to be in there alone after hours as long as he cleans up after himself. The music room is probably the one place in this school where Mark can say he genuinely loves being there.

So he spent a lot of his time there when he could which made him very easy to find.

“Mark! Mark!”

A kid bursts into the room and Mark recognizes him to be one of Jaemin’s new friends, Lee Donghyuck. 

He was happy when Jaemin finally made some friends, good friends, that he could spend some time with while he was at work. He didn’t like Jaemin being at home when he wasn’t, especially if their mother was there. Jaemin making three new friends took a worry off of his back.

“What’s wrong, Donghyuck?” Mark asks, putting down the guitar in his hands.

Donghyuck looks out of breath, holding his arm that’s still in its cast thanks to the last stupid stunt he pulled. He’s only seen the younger do that when his arm was in pain though. 

“Mark, you have to come quick. They’re jumping Jaemin!” Donghyuck exclaims.

Mark jumps out of his seat in surprise.

“WHAT?!” He shouts.

“Him and I were walking to go catch up to Jeno and all go to Renjun’s house but outside, Jaemin saw these two boys picking on a hurt stray dog and Jaemin told them to stop. They kept going so Jaemin grabbed the dog and shielded it and they started hitting him. I tried to get them off of him but one of them punched me in my broken arm and I couldn’t do anything to help so I ran here to get you because you’re closer than Jeno and Renjun and-”

Mark runs out of the room when it finally registers in his mind. Jaemin is getting jumped!

He doesn’t even wait for Donghyuck to catch up to him—though it probably would be better if he did so he would know exactly where Jaemin is at—and runs at top speed to find his little brother. Thankfully, he knows the way to Renjun’s house, having had to walk Jaemin home from there a few times, so he has a good idea on which way to go. Besides, if Donghyuck was able to run back to him then they must have not gotten far.

Like any time a fight is happening, a group of people is the first sign that Mark sees that tells him he’s close. He never understood how people can stand around and watch someone get hurt like that and never do anything. A fair fight, okay that’s one thing. But a two on one is not something to just watch.

He pushes through the crowd, not caring about the dirty looks and curses he receives from people. He makes his way to the front and immediately catches sight of Jaemin on the ground, hunched over a small dog whose head barely peeks out.

Without even giving it a second thought, Mark runs forward and lands his fist on the boy closest to him, knocking the boy back.

The boys look at him in surprise, wondering where the hell he came from.

“You wanna fight? You think you can take on the both of us?” The boy he punched says.

The boy doesn’t faze him though.

“I’ll break your bones for touching my little brother,” Mark says with a glare.

Unlike Jaemin, Mark is no stranger to fighting. He knows how to fight, very well, in fact. Middle school for him was constant fighting because kids just suck at that age. And he’s no stranger to one-sided hits, having lived with mother all of this time. Jaemin likes to take the peaceful way out of things. Mark, on the other hand, does not mind throwing fists to solve a problem. Especially if it’s to protect his little brother.

The boys go forward, swinging at Mark at the same time.

It’s been a while since he’s done a two on one but not long enough for him to forget how to win.

The crowd goes crazy as Mark beats down the two boys in a matter of eight minutes. He may have received a few hits but they’re nothing compared to the ones he landed on the two boys. He wasn’t just fighting to win. He was fighting to get them back for hurting Jaemin.

He watches as the two boys scramble away, throwing insults at Mark and calling him crazy. He doesn’t care. They and everyone else watching now knows, you leave his little brother alone.

Donghyuck—Mark doesn’t know when he appeared again—yells at the crowd to leave already since they were so useless and just watched Jaemin get hurt like that. He yells and yells until everyone clears as Mark goes over to Jaemin on the floor.

“Nana?” Mark says, gently touching Jaemin’s shoulder.

Jaemin winces but looks up to Mark anyway, slowly opening up to show the small dog he was protecting.

“He only has three legs. He couldn’t run away and they were just hurting him. How could they do something like that?” Jaemin says, showing Mark the dog.

Times like this make Mark look at his brother in awe. Jaemin is bruised and bleeding but he’s more concerned about the dog he was trying to protect. Only his baby brother would allow himself to be jumped just to protect a defenseless animal. This world doesn’t deserve Jaemin’s heart.

“You protected him though. You helped him out and I’m proud of you. We have to treat your bruises now though. Come on,” Mark says.

Jaemin shakes his head.

“We have to get him to a vet or something. My bruises can wait. They were really hurting him, he’s terrified,” Jaemin responds.

Mark sighs. Jaemin really is too good for this world. Maybe he’s not as pure as Jaemin is but to him, Jaemin’s bruises are more important to deal with than a stray’s at the moment. They can take the dog to the vet after Jaemin is treated.

“Jaemin!”

Mark and Jaemin look up to see Jeno and Renjun running toward them.

“Oh my god, Jaemin, are you okay? Hyuck called us and told us what happened. I should have waited for you guys,” Jeno says, worry written all in his eyes.

Jaemin gives a weak smile.

“I’m fine. Hyung jumped in and fought the boys away,” he responds.

“You’re not okay, you were jumped. They were literally kicking you, Nana. It hurts you just to move. That’s not okay,” Mark interjects.

Maybe it’s a sibling thing but neither of them ever owns up to the pain they’re feeling, always downplaying it for everyone else. Mark understands why Jaemin does it but this is not the time to be stubborn.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. We have to get this dog to the vet though,” Jaemin says, lifting the dog up a bit.

Mark is about to argue that what they need to do is to treat his bruises first but Renjun speaks before he can.

“We can take the dog to the vet. We also have to get Hyuck some painkillers for his arm and make sure everything is okay so we can take the dog there on our way while you go take care of your bruises,” Renjun says.

Mark silently thanks the world for Huang Renjun.

“Are you sure?” Jaemin asks.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. Just go home with Mark hyung and we’ll take care of the dog. If anything, we’ll see you tomorrow, okay,” Jeno says.

Jaemin looks like he’s considering it for a minute but in the end, hands over the injured animal to Jeno who holds the dog with the utmost care.

“Come on baby bro, it’s time to go home,” Mark says.

He faces his back to Jaemin, a silent gesture to tell the younger to get on. Thankfully, Jaemin doesn’t argue about it and just pulls himself to get on Mark’s back as best as he can.

Mark stands up, willing himself to stay balanced. He adjusts Jaemin to the best of his ability so the younger won’t fall off.

“Thanks for coming to get me. I hope your arm gets better,” Mark says to Donghyuck.

“Thanks for saving Jaemin,” Donghyuck replies.

Mark looks up to Jaemin though he knows that he won’t be able to see him.

“No need to thank me for that. I’ll always be there for my little brother,” he says.

He tells Jaemin’s friends goodbye and starts walking home, adjusting Jaemin on his back every so often.

“I’m sorry you got into another fight because of me,” Jaemin says.

“Don’t apologize for that. I got into that fight to teach them a lesson. If I don’t let our own mother touch you then I’m sure as hell not letting a couple of boys do so. Besides, those boys needed a good beatdown if they would attack a defenseless animal,” Mark replies.

Jaemin is always apologizing for things that he doesn’t have to apologize for. Mark will never regret anything he does for the sake of Jaemin and Jaemin should know that. A few punches don’t mean a thing to him if it means his brother can stay safe.

“But now you have bruises as well,” Jaemin says.

“They’re not as bad as yours. I’ll be okay. Let’s deal with you first and then we can worry about me. I didn’t receive nearly as many hits as you did,” Mark responds.

Jaemin rests his head on Mark’s back. He always feel safer when he’s with his big brother. No matter how much he wants to argue that Mark’s bruises should be checked first, he knows that Mark will never allow that to happen because even if their roles were switched and Mark was the one who was jumped, Mark would always put him first no matter what.

Mark will always keep him safe.

  
  
**5\. Seventeen and Nineteen**

Jaemin waited all senior year for this day.

Prom night.

Other than the senior trip, prom is the one event that every senior looks forward to. It’s the night for them to dress their best and have the time of their lives. It’s the night to take your best pictures, to hang out with friends, and to dance with your date. 

This was the night Jaemin was looking forward to.

Mark saved up his money again to buy Jaemin’s prom ticket and prom suit. Mark went to his senior prom alone, wearing whatever suit he had in his closet to save money. He didn’t mind since he didn’t really want to go with anyone other than his friends but all of them had dates already. Mark is the type of person who is fine doing things on his own so it didn’t bother him any. But for Jaemin’s prom, he wanted nothing but the best for his little brother, especially after Jaemin told him that he was able to land a date to prom just like his friends all did.

Before Jaemin left his house, Mark took a bunch of photos—they finally got Mark his own phone—and basically did everything a proper parent would have done on their child’s prom night. Mark dressed Jaemin up so well, even their mother said he looks handsome when she passed by him. It was probably the nicest thing she’s said to any of them in years so Mark really did a good job.

Jaemin didn’t have a car to pick up his date and his date didn’t want to pick him up since Jaemin was the one to do the asking. They agreed to just meet at the entrance and then walk in together. Jaemin didn’t mind, he was just happy to be going to prom with someone. It was going to be a special night for him.

Why do things never work out for him?   
  


Jaemin stands outside, tears wanting to fall but he keeps his emotions in check.

His prom date stood him up. Completely walked in with another person arm-in-arm with them and passed by him as if they’ve never seen him before. It really hurt.

Jaemin knows it’s stupid and he could just go to prom by himself like his brother did but he feels really embarrassed now. He was just dropped without any warning. How would it look if he went in by himself after that? His friends all have dates and they know he was supposed to have one too. He doesn’t want them to leave their dates for him but he also doesn’t want to third wheel anyone. Who will he dance with? Who will he talk to? He’ll look like a complete loner if he goes in by himself.

Maybe he should just go home.

The sound of a car horn catches everyone outside attention, including Jaemin. 

A nice, sleek, black car rolls into a parking space smoothly while everyone watches it. There are not many people in their grade who can drive and they don’t think any of them could afford a car like that so who is that?

Jaemin gets the answer when an extremely familiar face gets out of the car and gives Jaemin a smile.

“Hyung?” Jaemin whispers under his breath.

Almost everyone in senior year knows of Jaemin’s brother. How could anyone forget the dude who fought off two guys just to protect his little brother? Some like to talk about how scary Jaemin’s older brother is and others like to talk about how cute he is. The point is, people know what Jaemin’s brother looks like.

Mark walks over to Jaemin—who is still in shock—well dressed in a suit Jaemin has never seen before.

“What are you doing here?” Jaemin asks.

“To make sure you have a great night of course. I figured that you didn’t want to walk in alone and since I just so happen to be tonight’s DJ, well I thought it wouldn’t hurt to walk my baby brother in,” Mark says.

When Jaemin found out that he was stood up, he immediately texted Mark to let him know what happened and how he didn’t know what he should do. He didn’t think though that his brother would actually show up.

“What do you mean you’re tonight’s DJ?” Jaemin asks.

Mark smiles.

“Johnny hyung couldn’t make it last minute so he asked me to do it. He called the school and everything so it’s all okay. The DJ inside is just a standby until one of us came. It wouldn’t be my first prom DJ-ing at now would it?” Mark says.

Jaemin knows that since Mark has met Johnny, he also got into DJ-ing and takes up side gigs for money. Maybe he’s biased but Mark is pretty good at it. He DJ-ed at Johnny’s friend’s sister’s (confusing, they know) prom so Mark isn’t a rookie and schools will hire him.

“Where’d you get the suit from? And the car?” Jaemin asks.

“I’ve been keeping the suit in case of special emergencies and Yuta let me borrow his car for tonight. Now come on, let’s go in before your school docks money from my paycheck,” Mark says.

Jaemin smells something fishy with Mark’s story—it’s not like Johnny to suddenly cancel—but that’s what makes him smile. Maybe he won’t be alone tonight.

The two walk in together as brothers would. Jaemin looks around in awe at all of the decorations. It's better than he thought it would be.

“It’s your night kid, make sure you have fun,” Mark says to him.

Mark gives him a pat on the back before heading over to where the music set up is. 

Feeling much better, Jaemin confidently walks over to his friends’ table and sits down.

“Jaem, you came! I was getting kinda worried there when you know,” Jeno says, gesturing with his head toward Jaemin’s old date.

Jaemin looks to see his old date talking with their new date animatedly. It kinda hurts but at least they’re having a good time. Everyone should have fun at prom.

“I was thinking about going home to be honest but I got a little encouragement to stay,” Jaemin replies, nodding his head towards his brother.

“What is Mark doing here anyway?” Donghyuck asks.

Jaemin smiles.

“He’s our DJ for tonight. He says his friend, the original DJ, couldn’t make it and asked him to do it. I don’t know how much of that I believe but I appreciate it a lot,” he responds.

“Wow, I wish I had a sibling like that. Let’s hope he’s as good as a DJ as he is a brother,” Renjun says.

They laugh together, Jaemin assuring them that Mark can do a good job.

They talk a bit, their dates are talking with their friends as well. Jaemin is glad he can spend some time with his friends tonight. He’s happy to know that either way he wouldn’t have been as lonely as he thought he would have been. 

The sound of a mic turning on catches everyone’s attention. Everyone turns to the music section where Mark stands with a microphone.

“Good evening everyone, I hope you’re all ready to have a good time. My name is Mark and I’ll be your DJ for tonight. Sorry to tell you, I am not allowed to accept requests but I’ve been told that your senior committee chose a good list of songs for you all so let’s get this night started. Feel free to stop by and say hi if you want, I’ll be here as late as you guys. I hope each and everyone of you have a very special night to remember,” Mark says.

Jaemin can’t help but grin as he sees his brother look over to him when he says that last sentence. Leave it to his big brother to personally make sure that his prom night goes as good as it can.

“Hey, you think we could get him to take a request if we sent Jaemin to him?” Donghyuck asks.

“I personally do not believe that he has the capability of saying no to Jaemin so it may work,” Renjun responds.

Jaemin gives an offended look on behalf of his brother.

“He can say no to me for your information. But let’s not try it, he needs this paycheck. I don’t want him to get in trouble for anything,” Jaemin says.

He looks back to his brother who happily started the music up again. He knows how much Mark loves anything to do with music. Though this is his prom night, he hopes Mark has a great night too.

Eventually, his friends’ dates come and say that they want to dance and Jaemin happily tells them to go ahead. He’ll be fine at the table, he’s not in the mood to dance yet.

He watches as his friends have fun dancing and how everyone on the dance floor in general seem to be having a good time.

Jaemin catches Mark’s eyes and the two of them grin to each other brightly.

“Thanks hyung,” Jaemin mouths to him.

Jaemin’s grin grows even more as he watches Mark mouth back to him.

“Anytime little bro.”

  
  
  


**+1 Twenty and Twenty-two**

Mark was messing around on his guitar when he heard the familiar excited shout of his little brother.

Jaemin bursts into his dorm room excitedly, two envelopes in hand.

The two went to the same college, moving out of their mother’s house as soon as they could. Mark didn’t sign up for dorming until Jaemin was accepted into the university as well. It was a risky gamble, there was no guarantee that Jaemin would get accepted to the same college as Mark but Jaemin practically forced Mark to accept that scholarship since it was Mark’s dream college. They were extremely fortunate that Jaemin did, in fact, get accepted to that college.

They don’t dorm together and the two are in similar but different majors but neither of them mind. They like to have a life separate from each other but love the fact that they can always go back to each other when they want.

“What’s up Nana? You seem excited,” Mark says.

Jaemin holds out the envelopes to him with a big smile.

“I have a surprise for you,” Jaemin says.

Mark looks curiously at the envelopes. What could Jaemin have in these envelopes that he’s so excited about?

“Am I supposed to take both?” Mark asks.

“Yes! Look at both of them,” Jaemin says.

Mark puts down his guitar and takes both envelopes from Jaemin’s hands. He puts them on his desk so he could look at them better. He opens them and sees that their both letters.

He has to read them both over a second time to make sure he read them correctly.

“Nana, are these real? Is this serious?” Mark asks, looking at Jaemin with shock written all over his face.

Jaemin nods excitedly.

“But I didn’t…we don’t…” Mark trails off as he stares at the letters.

Both he and Jaemin were accepted for the study abroad program in Canada, the very program he has been wanting to get into since he entered college. The program he has dreamed about for who knows how long.

“Jaemin, I didn’t sign up for the study abroad program. My scholarship doesn’t cover that and we don’t have the money for that,” Mark says, in awe but very confused.

“I know, I applied for us both and we got accepted so we’re both going to Canada for the program. Aren’t you excited?” Jaemin responds.

“Excited? I’m extremely excited! I didn’t think I’ll actually ever be able to go and I thought if I ever did, I would be leaving you for so long. I just still don’t understand how this worked financially,” Mark says.

Jaemin’s grin soften to a happy, gentle smile.

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you for some years now. Remember when I was fourteen and you tutored all of those people so you could buy me my first phone? Or how when I was seventeen and you saved up your paychecks to buy me my prom ticket and suit? Well I’ve been doing the same. Since I was fourteen, I’ve been saving up any money I could get. I took any odd job someone would offer me like dog-walking, tutoring, babysitting. Half the time I told you I was going over to a friend’s house I was really going to do a job and they would cover for me. I didn’t know what I’d get you or what you really wanted so I just kept saving everything. But when I was at dance recently, I was reminded of the study abroad program and I remembered how you would talk about it a lot. I knew you really wanted to go but felt bad about leaving me and or using your money only on yourself so I thought this would be what I finally got you. I filled out your application first and submitted it since I know it was a first come first serve thing and then did mine. I got the acceptance letters today and I already mailed in the first deposit,” Jaemin explains.

Jaemin remembers always trying to hide the money so Mark wouldn’t see it. He remembers going to the bank with Jeno’s mom so they could open up an account for him so he would have somewhere to keep the money. Heck, even just recently he had a video-call with his three friends and told them how he finally submitted the applications and he hopes that they both get in, or at least Mark gets in.

“Nana, you did all of that for me? What if you didn’t get in? Doesn’t the application itself cost money?” Mark says, subconsciously holding the acceptance letters to his chest.

“Of course I did. You really wanted to get in this program, how could I not? And even if I didn’t get accepted, I would have still paid for your deposits and forced you to go since this is your dream. You did a lot for me since we were little. I don’t know a better older brother than you. You always dropped everything and did things for me so I could give you up for a while so you could accomplish your dream. I may be the little one but I wanted to be the one that gave you something this time instead of the other way around,” Jaemin replies.

Now, Mark isn’t one to cry easily. Jaemin could cry quickly but Mark always took much longer to give in to his emotions and start crying. He never cried easily and even if he was that type of person to, he always felt the need to stay strong for Jaemin so he would have pushed that out of him anyway. Crying was a rare thing for him to do.

With that being said, it made sense why Jaemin’s eyes widen in surprise as he saw tears fall from Mark’s eyes.

“Oh Markie,” Jaemin says.

Mark stands up and pulls him into a hug, tears falling on the younger’s shoulder.

“Thank you so much, Jaemin. Thank you, thank you,” Mark says, squeezing Jaemin tightly.

Jaemin hugs him back, for once being the one to keep his tears at bay as they hold each other.

“Anything for you, big brother. I love you so so much. I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for you taking care of me,” Jaemin replies.

Mark cries harder, tightening his hold on Jaemin.

What would he do without his precious little brother? He doesn’t know where he would have been himself if he didn’t have Jaemin with him along the way. From their dad leaving to their mom basically abandoning them while still being there, to having to go through school with whatever they can do on their own, they’ve been through a lot together and Mark knows that they were only able to get through it because they had each other. They’ve always had each other’s back and that’s all Mark ever wanted for them.

All he’s ever wanted is for them to keep their bond no matter what.

“I love you too, baby brother. Like you wouldn’t even understand.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Or [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)


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